“Oh, there’s plenty missing. Could I disentangle our necessary betrothal from my feelings, I would, for that would allow me to court you the way you deserve to be courted. And I’ll do it no matter what. Our engagement need only satisfy King Verdian, and we have a year before we’re expected to wed. A year for you to change your mind. A year for me to win you over. Regardless of your answer, of whatever is expected of us, I’ll woo you, Cora. I’ll court you as befits strangers. Lovers. I’ll deny myself the pleasure of kissing you until I’ve fully won your heart.”
Cora’s cold façade crumpled. His words cleaved through all remaining resistance, obliterated every argument she had in her arsenal. She could no longer deny the truth she’d tried so hard to suppress—that when Queen Bethaeny had offered the proposal, she’dwantedit to be with Teryn. And when he’d kissed her in the dungeon, she’dwantedthat kiss. Wanted him. She slackened against the tree trunk and surrendered to Teryn’s relentless barrage. “All right,” she whispered, and her chest pulsed its satisfaction.
“All right,” she said again, louder this time. The spark of hope ignited, melting the remainder of her walls, heating her blood, and filling her head with the most tantalizing euphoria. “But under one condition. I want you to kiss me now.”
25
Cora’s request sent heat radiating through Teryn’s chest. His eyes dropped down to her full, slightly parted lips, wondering if he hadn’t imagined the words that had left them. As if in silent confirmation, she tilted her chin, lashes fluttering closed.
That was all Teryn needed. All the agonizing seconds he could resist before he lowered his mouth to hers. She met him halfway, her lips impossibly soft as they crushed against his. Her arms wound around his neck, fingertips sliding into his hair and sending a shiver down his spine. He pressed her closer to the tree, one hand snaking behind her back while the other trailed down her hair, the side of her face. Then, cradling her jaw, he gently tilted her chin, allowing their kiss to deepen. Her lips parted, and their tongues met in a languorous sweep. His hand stiffened on her back, pulling her ever closer. She yielded to him, her soft, small body somehow fitting perfectly against him. Their breaths grew heavy, sharp, and with the next sweep of his tongue, she released the most delicious of moans.
It nearly unraveled him, nearly made him slide his hands to places better left explored in private. He ached to palm her backside, to untie her apron and feel at least one less layer between them. Yet, despite his near-feverish desire, he remained vaguely aware of the two guards nearby. Guards that were surely getting an eyeful regardless of where Teryn kept his hands.
Cora arched into him, releasing another soft moan, her fingers clawing into the hair at the nape of his neck. Teryn was about to throw caution to the wind and heft her into his arms to close more of the sparse distance between them—when Cora suddenly pulled back with a gasp. And not one of pleasure. Of…something he couldn’t comprehend.
Teryn froze. Had he done something wrong? Had he let his passion get out of control after all? The tightening in his trousers suggested as much, and she certainly would have noticedthat, but?—
She gasped again. Only this time he realized it wasn’t a gasp at all but a snort.
Of laughter.
Which might have been worse than whatever he’d been imagining.
Still, her smile sent a fluttery feeling to his chest, and he found his lips lifting too. Her arms were still around his neck, her body still close to his. “What is it?”
She pursed her lips, gaze lowered. Then she lifted her dark eyes to his and her smile grew. “It’s Valorre,” she said, her voice quavering with restrained laughter. “That smug little bastard is smirking.”
Teryn cast a glance over his shoulder but saw only the edge of the cliff and the wildflower meadow. The other direction revealed nothing but trees and the forest path. Well, that and the pair of guards who were absolutely looking at them. Perverts.
“I don’t see him,” he said.
“He’s not here,” she whispered, “but he is close by. I canfeelhim smirking.”
Awe washed over him. “You really can communicate with him, can’t you?”
Her expression turned timid, but she gave him a small smile. “Yes.”
Seven gods, she was incredible. Their moment of passion may have been broken by Cora’s sudden amusement, but it hadn’t changed his feelings. With his hand still pressed against her back, he gently stroked his thumb over the wool fabric of her dress. “I wish you didn’t have to hide who you really are. You are too godsdamned amazing for that.”
Her expression took on a teasing quality. “I think I liked it best when you called me formidable.”
“You’re always formidable.”
She leaned against the tree, placing space between them. Her hands slid from around his neck but lingered over his chest. “I never did thank you,” she said, eyes flashing toward the guards. “For keeping my secret. About my magic, about…well, a lot of things.”
He gave her a wry grin. “Yes, I seem to recall you being too busy yelling at me when last we spoke to properly thank me.”
She playfully swatted his chest, but he caught her fingers and brought them to his lips. Holding her gaze, he planted a kiss over the back of her bare, gloveless hand, right over the rounded curves of her knuckles. She bit her lower lip as if that could hide the grin splitting her face. And if it wasn’t the most beautiful godsdamned smile he’d ever seen. He didn’t think she’d ever looked at him like that, and now that he’d seen the expression, he was determined to inspire it a thousand times more.
Her face fell slightly, eyes darting toward the guards again. “We should probably get back before we lose our senses and give them another show.”
Losing his senses was exactly what Teryn wanted to do with her. Just the thought of how good she’d felt against him, against that tree, nearly had him pulling her into his arms all over again. But she was probably right. So instead of kissing her swollen lips and eliciting another one of those glorious moans of hers, he took her hand and placed it at the crook of his elbow. Angling his head toward the path, he said, “Shall we?”
They fellinto silence as they made their way back toward the castle. Berol soared overhead, sometimes swooping low enough that he could hear the beat of her wings. As much as Teryn wanted to fill the void with conversation, he was grateful for the quiet, for it allowed him to simply enjoy the feel of Cora’s company, of her slender hand warm against his forearm, of the pound of his heart dancing in rhythm with their steps. A pinch of fear crept up now and then, and he’d worry their silence was shifting into the awkward sort. But then he’d glance her way and she’d grin back.
Perhaps there was some awkwardness to their silence, but it was a good kind. One that marked new beginnings. Two people getting to know one another in an entirely new way.
In fact, all of this was new to Teryn. While he’d had his share of lovers, he’d never entertained anything serious. His marriage prospects had always been filtered through political advantage. Which, of course, had resulted in his engagement to Mareleau. Regardless, he’d always been resigned to his fate. After seeing what love had done to his parents and his kingdom, he’d been determined to accept his duty with a cold heart.
